Young Hercules
Young Hercules is a spin-off from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. It was aired on FOX Kids Network from September 12, 1998 to May 12, 1999. It lasted only one season with 50 episodes, and starred Ryan Gosling, replacing Ian Bohen from the pilot movie as the title character. Ian Bohen was offered the part, but opted not to spend an entire year in New Zealand where the series would shoot principal photography.
| Young Hercules | |
|---|---|
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| Developed by | Robert Tapert |
| Starring | Ryan Gosling Dean O'Gorman Chris Conrad |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 50 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Sam Raimi Robert Tapert Eric Gruendemann Liz Friedman |
| Running time | 21:20 min. |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox Kids Network |
| Release | September 12, 1998 – May 14, 1999 |
| Related | |
| Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Xena: Warrior Princess | |
Plot Summary
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The show features the efforts of Ares, the god of war, played by Kevin Smith, who attempts often to destroy his younger half-brother to win over Zeus' good graces. Among his group is his nephew Strife (Joel Tobeck), who is the rather weaker member of the team. Strife's partner is Discord, goddess of retribution (Meighan Desmond), who acts more level-headed and power hungry than her counterpart on more than one occasion.
The storyline follows Hercules (Ryan Gosling) as he attends Cheiron's Academy to train in the arts of the warrior under the wise headmaster Chiron the Centaur (Nathaniel Lees). He makes friends with the future king of Corinth, the prince Jason (Chris Conrad) and a thieving former member of a bandit group Iolaus (Dean O'Gorman) who was sentenced to the training academy as an alternative to prison for his crimes. Hercules also meets the academy's first female cadet, Lilith (Jodie Rimmer). Other characters of interest include Kora, the Inn Keeper, who unknown to Hercules and his friends, is a devotee of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. As the series develops, Kora is revealed to have special powers which allow her to do Artemis' bidding. There are hints of romance between Hercules and Kora, although their friendship keeps it all innocent.
The overall plot of the show is to fill in any of the gaps that may exist between the version of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and the episodes that transpire from his young adult life, although very loosely due to its continuity errors by neglecting the Young Hercules movie and the flashback episodes of the fourth season of Hercules.